INDONESIA:  A court sentenced an ex-cabinet minister today to 15 years in prison after finding him guilty of corruption linked to the construction of mobile phone transmission towers in remote parts of the country.

Former communication and information technology minister Johnny G Plate was arrested in May after being questioned as part of an investigation by the attorney general’s office in Jakarta.

He was detained with five other suspects, including three from the private sector, after some 60 people were quizzed about the procurement process.

CHINA: A senior military official held talks in Moscow today, praising strong ties between the countries during a visit that underlined growing co-operation between them.

Central Military Commission vice-chairman General Zhang Youxia said that relations between Russia and China were “at the highest level in the new epoch.”

SYRIA: The Islamic State jihadist group ambushed pro-government militia fighters in an overnight attack in the country’s east, killing at least 21, pro-government media said today.

Sham FM radio reported that the members of the pro-government National Defence Places had been ambushed in the village of al-Kawm in the central Syrian desert, between the government-held city of Homs and south of the city of Raqqa, which is under control of Kurdish-led forces backed by the United States.

ITALY: Migration experts and activists have condemned a deal between Italy and Albania for thousands of migrants to be sent to the Balkan country while their asylum applications are under review.

The details of the arrangement, announced on Monday as Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama visited Rome, remain unknown.